Method and system for dynamically associating access rights with a resource

ABSTRACT

A method for dynamically associating, by a server, access rights with a resource includes the step of receiving, by the server, a request for a resource from a client. The server requests, from a policy engine, an identification of a plurality of access rights to associate with the resource, the plurality of access rights identified responsive to an application of a policy to the client. The server associates the resource with the plurality of access rights via a rights markup language. The server transmits the resource to the client with the identification of the associated plurality of access rights. An application program on the client makes an access control decision responsive to the associated plurality of access rights. The application program provides restricted access to the resource responsive to the access control decision.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to methods and systems for associatingaccess rights with resources. In particular, the present inventionrelates to methods and systems for dynamically associating access rightswith a resource.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Rights management languages, such as the extensible rights markuplanguage (XRML) standard or the Open Digital Rights Language (ODRL)standard, typically provide functionality for identifying attributesassociated with digital resources. Attributes in conventional systemstypically comprise a set of rights or conditions associated with aresource. Rights markup languages typically provide benefits includingflexibility in defining attributes for varying business models,interoperability between trust environments using similar markuplanguages, and extendible language schema that are customizable byadministrators.

However, conventional systems typically require processing of individualresources to associate the resources with the appropriate rights orconditions. Processing resources may include identifying a set ofattributes to associate with a resource, digitally signing the resourcewith an identification of the identified attributes, and publishing thedigitally signed resource, for example, by uploading the resource to ashared server. Typically, individual resources are processed one at atime and resources must be associated with attributes before theresources are made available to users. The processing of each resourcein an organization may create a significant administrative task.

Additionally, once processed, the attributes are typically permanentlyassociated with the resources. The same attributes are typicallyenforced regardless of differences between the clients requesting theaccess. However, different policies, and therefore different accessright attributes, may apply to different clients, or to a single clientat different times. For example, one client may satisfy a policy and beauthorized for a particular level or type of access to a resource, whileanother client fails to satisfy the policy and is not authorized for anyaccess to the same resource. In another example, a client making arequest at one point in time may satisfy an applicable policy but may nolonger satisfy the applicable policy at the time of a later request, forexample when the client makes the request from a different network.Alternatively, an administrator may wish to change an attributeassociated with a resource, or a policy identifying the attributesassociated with a resource, without wishing to re-process all theresources in an organization.

A dynamic method for assigning attributes to a resource at the time ofthe request for access to a resource, instead of before, would bedesirable. Additionally, a flexible method for assigning varyingattributes based on real-time evaluations of clients, and informationassociated with the clients, at the time the clients makes the requestwould be desirable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, a method for dynamically associating, by a server, accessrights with a resource includes the step of receiving, by the server, arequest for a resource from a client. The server requests, from a policyengine, an identification of a plurality of access rights to associatewith the resource, the plurality of access rights identified responsiveto an application of a policy to the client. The server associates theresource with the plurality of access rights via a rights markuplanguage. The server transmits the resource to the client with theidentification of the associated plurality of access rights. Anapplication program on the client makes an access control decisionresponsive to the associated plurality of access rights. The applicationprogram provides restricted access to the resource responsive to theaccess control decision.

In one embodiment, information is gathered about the client. In anotherembodiment, a policy is applied to the gathered information. In stillanother embodiment, the policy engine applies a policy to the gatheredinformation to make an access control decision.

In one embodiment, the server receives an identification of a pluralityof access rights including a right to retrieve a file. In anotherembodiment, the server receives an identification of a plurality ofaccess rights including a right to view a version of a file displayedusing Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). In still another embodiment, theserver receives an identification of a plurality of access rightsincluding a right to receive output data generated by an execution ofthe resource on an application server.

In one embodiment, the server receives an identification of a pluralityof access rights including a right to print a copy of the resource. Inanother embodiment, the server receives an identification of a pluralityof access rights including a right to save a local copy of the resource.In still another embodiment, the server receives an identification of aplurality of access rights including a right to transmit, via electronicmail, a copy of the resource.

In one embodiment, the application program denies a request to retrievethe resource. In another embodiment, the application program allows arequest to retrieve the resource. In still another embodiment, theapplication program denies a request to modify the resource.

In one embodiment, the application program denies a request to receiveoutput data generated by an execution of the resource. In anotherembodiment, the application program displays a version of the resourcedisplayed using the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), responsive to arequest to retrieve the resource. In still another embodiment, theapplication program allows a request to receive output data generated byan execution of the resource on an application server.

In one embodiment, the server transmits the resource and the associatedplurality of access rights to an application program executing on asecond server. In another embodiment, the application program executingon the second server makes an access control decision responsive to theidentified at least one access right. In still another embodiment, theapplication program executing on the second server provides restrictedaccess to the resource responsive to the access control decision.

In one embodiment, a system for dynamically associating access rightswith a resource comprises a server, a policy engine, and an applicationprogram. The server receives a request for access to a resource from aclient. The policy engine receives a request from the server for anidentification of a plurality of access rights to associate with theresource, the plurality of access rights identified responsive to anapplication of a policy to the client. The application program receives,from the server, a copy of the resource associated with the identifiedplurality of access rights via a rights markup language, and anidentification of the associated plurality of access rights.

In one embodiment, the policy engine includes a collection agentgathering information about the client. In another embodiment, thepolicy engine includes a policy database, the policy engine applying apolicy from the policy database to the gathered information. In stillanother embodiment, the server includes a means for transmitting acollection agent to a client.

In one embodiment, the server includes a means for associating theresource with an access right using an extensible rights markup language(XRML). In another embodiment, the server includes a means for signingthe resource using an extensible rights markup language (XRML). In stillanother embodiment, the server includes a means for associating aresource with a requirement to view a version of the file displayedusing the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML).

In one embodiment, the server includes a means for associating theresource with a right to receive output data generated by an executionof the resource on an application server. In another embodiment, theserver includes a means for associating the resource with a right toprint a copy of the resource. In still another embodiment, the serverincludes a means for associating the resource with a right to save alocal copy of the resource. In yet another embodiment, the serverincludes a means for associating the resource with a right to transmitvia electronic mail a copy of the resource.

In one embodiment, the application program is configured to make anaccess control decision responsive to the identification of theassociated plurality of access rights. In another embodiment, theapplication program includes a component for applying an access right inthe associated plurality of access rights to the request for theresource. In still another embodiment, the application program furthercomprises a means for denying a request to retrieve the resource. In yetanother embodiment, the application program includes a means for viewinga version of the resource displayed using the Hypertext Markup Language(HTML). In a further embodiment, the application program includes aconnection to a client agent displaying on the client received outputdata generated by an execution of the resource on an application server.

In one embodiment, the server comprises a transmitter sending theresource and the identification of the associated plurality of accessrights to an application program executing on a second server. Inanother embodiment, the application program executing on the secondserver includes a means for making an access control decision responsiveto an access right in the associated plurality of access rights. Instill another embodiment, the application program executing on thesecond server includes a means for providing restricted access to theresource responsive to the access control decision. In yet anotherembodiment, the application program executing on the second serverincludes an agent for transmitting output data generated by theapplication program to the client and providing restricted access to theoutput data responsive to the access control decision.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, aspects, features, and advantages ofthe invention will become more apparent and better understood byreferring to the following description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A is a block diagram depicting an embodiment of a networkenvironment comprising client machines in communication with remotemachines;

FIGS. 1B and 1C are block diagrams depicting embodiments of computersuseful in connection with the methods and systems described herein;

FIG. 2A is a block diagram depicting one embodiment of a networkincluding a policy engine;

FIG. 2B is a block diagram depicting one embodiment of a policy engine,including a first component comprising a condition database and a logonagent, and including a second component comprising a policy database;

FIG. 2C is a flow diagram depicting one embodiment of the steps taken bythe policy engine to make an access control decision based uponinformation received about a client;

FIG. 3A is a block diagram depicting one embodiment of a system fordynamically associating access rights with a resource;

FIG. 3B is a block diagram depicting one embodiment of a system fordynamically associating access rights in which a server 106 sends aresource and an identification of an associated plurality of accessrights to an application program executing on a second server; and

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram depicting one embodiment of the steps taken ina method for dynamically associating, by a server, access rights with aresource.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to FIG. 1A, an embodiment of a network environment isdepicted. In brief overview, the network environment comprises one ormore clients 102 a-102 n (also generally referred to as local machine(s)102, or client(s) 102) in communication with one or more servers 106a-106 n (also generally referred to as server(s) 106, or remotemachine(s) 106) via one or more networks 104.

Although FIG. 1A shows a network 104 between the clients 102 and theservers 106, the clients 102 and the servers 106 may be on the samenetwork 104. The network 104 can be a local-area network (LAN), such asa company Intranet, a metropolitan area network (MAN), or a wide areanetwork (WAN), such as the Internet or the World Wide Web. In someembodiments, there are multiple networks 104 between the clients 102 andthe servers 106. In one of these embodiments, a network 104′ may be aprivate network and a network 104 may be a public network. In another ofthese embodiments, a network 104 may be a private network and a network104′ a public network. In still another embodiment, networks 104 and104′ may both be private networks.

The network 104 may be any type and/or form of network and may includeany of the following: a point to point network, a broadcast network, awide area network, a local area network, a telecommunications network, adata communication network, a computer network, an ATM (AsynchronousTransfer Mode) network, a SONET (Synchronous Optical Network) network, aSDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) network, a wireless network and awireline network. In some embodiments, the network 104 may comprise awireless link, such as an infrared channel or satellite band. Thetopology of the network 104 may be a bus, star, or ring networktopology. The network 104 and network topology may be of any suchnetwork or network topology as known to those ordinarily skilled in theart capable of supporting the operations described herein. The networkmay comprise mobile telephone networks utilizing any protocol orprotocols used to communicate among mobile devices, including AMPS,TDMA, CDMA, GSM, GPRS or UMTS. In some embodiments, different types ofdata may be transmitted via different protocols. In other embodiments,the same types of data may be transmitted via different protocols.

In one embodiment, the system may include multiple, logically-groupedservers 106. In these embodiments, the logical group of servers may bereferred to as a server farm 38. In some of these embodiments, theservers 106 may be geographically dispersed. In some cases, a farm 38may be administered as a single entity. In other embodiments, the serverfarm 38 comprises a plurality of server farms 38. In one embodiment, theserver farm executes one or more applications on behalf of one or moreclients 102.

The servers 106 within each farm 38 can be heterogeneous. One or more ofthe servers 106 can operate according to one type of operating systemplatform (e.g., WINDOWS NT, manufactured by Microsoft Corp. of Redmond,Wash.), while one or more of the other servers 106 can operate onaccording to another type of operating system platform (e.g., Unix orLinux). The servers 106 of each farm 38 do not need to be physicallyproximate to another server 106 in the same farm 38. Thus, the group ofservers 106 logically grouped as a farm 38 may be interconnected using awide-area network (WAN) connection or a metropolitan-area network (MAN)connection. For example, a farm 38 may include servers 106 physicallylocated in different continents or different regions of a continent,country, state, city, campus, or room. Data transmission speeds betweenservers 106 in the farm 38 can be increased if the servers 106 areconnected using a local-area network (LAN) connection or some form ofdirect connection.

Server 106 may be a file server, application server, web server, proxyserver, appliance, network appliance, gateway, application gateway,gateway server, virtualization server, deployment server, SSL VPNserver, or firewall. In some embodiments, a server 106 may have thecapacity to function as either an application server or as a masterapplication server. In one embodiment, a server 106 may include anActive Directory. The remote machine 30 may be an applicationacceleration appliance. For embodiments in which the remote machine 30is an application acceleration appliance, the remote machine 30 mayprovide functionality including firewall functionality, applicationfirewall functionality, or load balancing functionality. In someembodiments, the remote machine 30 comprises an appliance such as one ofthe line of appliances manufactured by the Citrix Application NetworkingGroup, of San Jose, Calif., or Silver Peak Systems, Inc., of MountainView, Calif., or of Riverbed Technology, Inc., of San Francisco, Calif.,or of F5 Networks, Inc., of Seattle, Wash., or of Juniper Networks,Inc., of Sunnyvale, Calif.

The clients 102 may also be referred to as client nodes, clientmachines, endpoint nodes, or endpoints. In some embodiments, a client102 has the capacity to function as both a client node seeking access toresources provided by a server and as a server providing access tohosted resources for other clients 102 a-102 n.

In some embodiments, a client 102 communicates with a server 106. In oneembodiment, the client 102 communicates directly with one of the servers106 in a farm 38. In another embodiment, the client 102 executes aprogram neighborhood application to communicate with a server 106 in afarm 38. In still another embodiment, the server 106 provides thefunctionality of a master node. In some embodiments, the client 102communicates with the server 106 in the farm 38 through a network 104.Over the network 104, the client 102 can, for example, request executionof various applications hosted by the servers 106 a-106 n in the farm 38and receive output of the results of the application execution fordisplay. In some embodiments, only the master node provides thefunctionality required to identify and provide address informationassociated with a server 106 b hosting a requested application.

In one embodiment, the server 106 provides functionality of a webserver. In another embodiment, the server 106 a receives requests fromthe client 102, forwards the requests to a second server 106 b andresponds to the request by the client 102 with a response to the requestfrom the server 106 b. In still another embodiment, the server 106acquires an enumeration of applications available to the client 102 andaddress information associated with a server 106 hosting an applicationidentified by the enumeration of applications. In yet anotherembodiment, the server 106 presents the response to the request to theclient 102 using a web interface. In one embodiment, the client 102communicates directly with the server 106 to access the identifiedapplication. In another embodiment, the client 102 receives output data,such as display data, generated by an execution of the identifiedapplication on the server 106.

In some embodiments, the server 106 or a server farm 38 may be runningone or more applications, such as an application providing a thin-clientcomputing or remote display presentation application. In one embodiment,the server 106 or server farm 38 executes as an application, any portionof the Citrix Access Suite™ by Citrix Systems, Inc., such as theMetaFrame or Citrix Presentation Server™, and/or any of the MICROSOFTWINDOWS Terminal Services manufactured by the Microsoft Corporation. Inanother embodiment, the application is an ICA client, developed byCitrix Systems, Inc. of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. In still anotherembodiment, the server 106 may run an application, which for example,may be an application server providing email services such as MICROSOFTEXCHANGE manufactured by the Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash., aweb or Internet server, or a desktop sharing server, or a collaborationserver. In yet another embodiment, any of the applications may compriseany type of hosted service or products, such as GOTOMEETING provided byCitrix Online Division, Inc. of Santa Barbara, Calif., WEBEX provided byWebEx, Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif., or Microsoft Office LIVE MEETINGprovided by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash.

In one embodiment, the server 106 includes a policy engine forcontrolling and managing the access to, selection of applicationexecution methods and the delivery of applications. In anotherembodiment, the server 106 communicates with a policy engine. In someembodiments, the policy engine determines the one or more applications auser or client 102 may access. In other embodiments, the policy enginedetermines how the application should be delivered to the user or client102, e.g., the method of execution. In still other embodiments, theserver 106 provides a plurality of delivery techniques from which toselect a method of application execution, such as a server-basedcomputing, application streaming, or delivering the application locallyto the client 102 for local execution.

In one embodiment, a client 102 requests execution of an applicationprogram and a server 106 selects a method of executing the applicationprogram. In another embodiment, the server 106 receives credentials fromthe client 102. In still another embodiment, the server 106 receives arequest for an enumeration of available applications from the client102. In yet another embodiment, in response to the request or receipt ofcredentials, the server 106 enumerates a plurality of applicationprograms available to the client 102.

In some embodiments, the server 106 selects one of a predeterminednumber of methods for executing an enumerated application, for example,responsive to a policy of a policy engine. In one of these embodiments,an application delivery system on the server 106 makes the selection. Inanother of these embodiments, the server 106 may select a method ofexecution of the application enabling the client 102 to receive outputdata generated by execution of the application program on a server 106b. In still another of these embodiments, the server 106 may select amethod of execution of the application enabling the client 102 toexecute the application program locally after retrieving a plurality ofapplication files comprising the application. In yet another of theseembodiments, the server 106 may select a method of execution of theapplication to stream the application via the network 104 to the client102.

A client 102 may execute, operate or otherwise provide an application,which can be any type and/or form of software, program, or executableinstructions such as any type and/or form of web browser, web-basedclient, client-server application, a thin-client computing client, anActiveX control, or a Java applet, or any other type and/or form ofexecutable instructions capable of executing on client 102. In someembodiments, the application may be a server-based or a remote-basedapplication executed on behalf of the client 102 on a server 106. In oneembodiments the server 106 may display output to the client 102 usingany thin-client or remote-display protocol, such as the IndependentComputing Architecture (ICA) protocol manufactured by Citrix Systems,Inc. of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. or the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP)manufactured by the Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash. Theapplication can use any type of protocol and it can be, for example, anHTTP client, an FTP client, an Oscar client, or a Telnet client. Inother embodiments, the application comprises any type of softwarerelated to voice over internet protocol (VoIP) communications, such as asoft IP telephone. In further embodiments, the application comprises anyapplication related to real-time data communications, such asapplications for streaming video and/or audio.

The client 102 and server 106 may be deployed as and/or executed on anytype and form of computing device, such as a computer, network device orappliance capable of communicating on any type and form of network andperforming the operations described herein. FIGS. 1B and 1C depict blockdiagrams of a computing device 100 useful for practicing an embodimentof the client 102 or a server 106. As shown in FIGS. 1B and 1C, eachcomputing device 100 includes a central processing unit 121, and a mainmemory unit 122. As shown in FIG. 1B, a computing device 100 may includea visual display device 124, a keyboard 126 and/or a pointing device127, such as a mouse. As shown in FIG. 1C, each computing device 100 mayalso include additional optional elements, such as one or moreinput/output devices 130 a-130 b (generally referred to using referencenumeral 130), and a cache memory 140 in communication with the centralprocessing unit 121.

The central processing unit 121 is any logic circuitry that responds toand processes instructions fetched from the main memory unit 122. Inmany embodiments, the central processing unit is provided by amicroprocessor unit, such as: those manufactured by Intel Corporation ofMountain View, Calif.; those manufactured by Motorola Corporation ofSchaumburg, Ill.; those manufactured by Transmeta Corporation of SantaClara, Calif.; the RS/6000 processor, those manufactured byInternational Business Machines of White Plains, N.Y.; or thosemanufactured by Advanced Micro Devices of Sunnyvale, Calif. Thecomputing device 100 may be based on any of these processors, or anyother processor capable of operating as described herein.

Main memory unit 122 may be one or more memory chips capable of storingdata and allowing any storage location to be directly accessed by themicroprocessor 121, such as Static random access memory (SRAM), BurstSRAM or SynchBurst SRAM (BSRAM), Dynamic random access memory (DRAM),Fast Page Mode DRAM (FPM DRAM), Enhanced DRAM (EDRAM), Extended DataOutput RAM (EDO RAM), Extended Data Output DRAM (EDO DRAM), BurstExtended Data Output DRAM (BEDO DRAM), Enhanced DRAM (EDRAM),synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), JEDEC SRAM, PC 100 SDRAM, Double Data RateSDRAM (DDR SDRAM), Enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), SyncLink DRAM (SLDRAM),Direct Rambus DRAM (DRDRAM), or Ferroelectric RAM (FRAM). The mainmemory 122 may be based on any of the above described memory chips, orany other available memory chips capable of operating as describedherein. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1B, the processor 121communicates with main memory 122 via a system bus 150 (described inmore detail below). FIG. 1B depicts an embodiment of a computing device100 in which the processor communicates directly with main memory 122via a memory port 103. For example, in FIG. 1B the main memory 122 maybe DRDRAM.

FIG. 1C depicts an embodiment in which the main processor 121communicates directly with cache memory 140 via a secondary bus,sometimes referred to as a backside bus. In other embodiments, the mainprocessor 121 communicates with cache memory 140 using the system bus150. Cache memory 140 typically has a faster response time than mainmemory 122 and is typically provided by SRAM, BSRAM, or EDRAM. In theembodiment shown in FIG. 1C, the processor 121 communicates with variousI/O devices 130 via a local system bus 150. Various buses may be used toconnect the central processing unit 121 to any of the I/O devices 130,including a VESA VL bus, an ISA bus, an EISA bus, a MicroChannelArchitecture (MCA) bus, a PCI bus, a PCI-X bus, a PCI-Express bus, or aNuBus. For embodiments in which the I/O device is a video display 124,the processor 121 may use an Advanced Graphics Port (AGP) to communicatewith the display 124. FIG. 1C depicts an embodiment of a computer 100 inwhich the main processor 121 communicates directly with I/O device 130 bvia HyperTransport, Rapid I/O, or InfiniBand. FIG. 1C also depicts anembodiment in which local busses and direct communication are mixed: theprocessor 121 communicates with I/O device 130 a using a localinterconnect bus while communicating with I/O device 130 b directly.

The computing device 100 may support any suitable installation device116, such as a floppy disk drive for receiving floppy disks such as3.5-inch, 5.25-inch disks or ZIP disks, a CD-ROM drive, a CD-R/RW drive,a DVD-ROM drive, tape drives of various formats, USB device, hard-driveor any other device suitable for installing software and programs suchas any client agent 120, or portion thereof. The computing device 100may further comprise a storage device, such as one or more hard diskdrives or redundant arrays of independent disks, for storing anoperating system and other related software, and for storing applicationsoftware programs such as any program related to the client agent 120.Optionally, any of the installation devices 116 could also be used asthe storage device. Additionally, the operating system and the softwarecan be run from a bootable medium, for example, a bootable CD, such asKNOPPIX®, a bootable CD for GNU/Linux that is available as a GNU/Linuxdistribution from knoppix.net.

Furthermore, the computing device 100 may include a network interface118 to interface to a Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN)or the Internet through a variety of connections including, but notlimited to, standard telephone lines, LAN or WAN links (e.g., 802.11,T1, T3, 56 kb, X.25), broadband connections (e.g., ISDN, Frame Relay,ATM), wireless connections, or some combination of any or all of theabove. The network interface 118 may comprise a built-in networkadapter, network interface card, PCMCIA network card, card bus networkadapter, wireless network adapter, USB network adapter, modem or anyother device suitable for interfacing the computing device 100 to anytype of network capable of communication and performing the operationsdescribed herein.

A wide variety of I/O devices 130 a-130 n may be present in thecomputing device 100. Input devices include keyboards, mice, trackpads,trackballs, microphones, and drawing tablets. Output devices includevideo displays, speakers, inkjet printers, laser printers, anddye-sublimation printers. The I/O devices may be controlled by an I/Ocontroller 123 as shown in FIG. 1B. The I/O controller may control oneor more I/O devices such as a keyboard 126 and a pointing device 127,e.g., a mouse or optical pen. Furthermore, an I/O device may alsoprovide storage and/or an installation medium 116 for the computingdevice 100. In still other embodiments, the computing device 100 mayprovide USB connections to receive handheld USB storage devices such asthe USB Flash Drive line of devices manufactured by Twintech Industry,Inc. of Los Alamitos, Calif.

In some embodiments, the computing device 100 may comprise or beconnected to multiple display devices 124 a-124 n, which each may be ofthe same or different type and/or form. As such, any of the I/O devices130 a-130 n and/or the I/O controller 123 may comprise any type and/orform of suitable hardware, software, or combination of hardware andsoftware to support, enable or provide for the connection and use ofmultiple display devices 124 a-124 n by the computing device 100. Forexample, the computing device 100 may include any type and/or form ofvideo adapter, video card, driver, and/or library to interface,communicate, connect or otherwise use the display devices 124 a-124 n.In one embodiment, a video adapter may comprise multiple connectors tointerface to multiple display devices 124 a-124 n. In other embodiments,the computing device 100 may include multiple video adapters, with eachvideo adapter connected to one or more of the display devices 124 a-124n. In some embodiments, any portion of the operating system of thecomputing device 100 may be configured for using multiple displays 124a-124 n. In other embodiments, one or more of the display devices 124a-124 n may be provided by one or more other computing devices, such ascomputing devices 100 a and 100 b connected to the computing device 100,for example, via a network. These embodiments may include any type ofsoftware designed and constructed to use another computer's displaydevice as a second display device 124 a for the computing device 100.One ordinarily skilled in the art will recognize and appreciate thevarious ways and embodiments that a computing device 100 may beconfigured to have multiple display devices 124 a-124 n.

In further embodiments, an I/O device 130 may be a bridge between thesystem bus 150 and an external communication bus, such as a USB bus, anApple Desktop Bus, an RS-232 serial connection, a SCSI bus, a FireWirebus, a FireWire 800 bus, an Ethernet bus, an AppleTalk bus, a GigabitEthernet bus, an Asynchronous Transfer Mode bus, a HIPPI bus, a SuperHIPPI bus, a SerialPlus bus, a SCI/LAMP bus, a FibreChannel bus, or aSerial Attached small computer system interface bus.

A computing device 100 of the sort depicted in FIGS. 1B and 1C typicallyoperates under the control of operating systems, which controlscheduling of tasks and access to system resources. The computing device100 can be running any operating system such as any of the versions ofthe MICROSOFT WINDOWS operating systems, the different releases of theUnix and Linux operating systems, any version of the MAC OS forMacintosh computers, any embedded operating system, any real-timeoperating system, any open source operating system, any proprietaryoperating system, any operating systems for mobile computing devices, orany other operating system capable of running on the computing deviceand performing the operations described herein. Typical operatingsystems include: WINDOWS 3.x, WINDOWS 95, WINDOWS 98, WINDOWS 2000,WINDOWS NT 3.51, WINDOWS NT 4.0, WINDOWS CE, and WINDOWS XP, all ofwhich are manufactured by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash.;MacOS, manufactured by Apple Computer of Cupertino, Calif.; OS/2,manufactured by International Business Machines of Armonk, N.Y.; andLinux, a freely-available operating system distributed by Caldera Corp.of Salt Lake City, Utah, or any type and/or form of a Unix operatingsystem, among others.

In some embodiments, the computing device 100 may have differentprocessors, operating systems, and input devices consistent with thedevice. For example, in one embodiment the computing device 100 is aTreo 180, 270, 600, 650, 680, 700p or 700w smart phone manufactured byPalm, Inc. In some of these embodiments, the Treo smart phone isoperated under the control of the PalmOS operating system and includes astylus input device as well as a five-way navigator device.

In other embodiments the computing device 100 is a mobile device, suchas a JAVA-enabled cellular telephone or personal digital assistant(PDA), such as the i55sr, i58sr, i85s, i88s, i90c, i95cl, or theim11000, all of which are manufactured by Motorola Corp. of Schaumburg,Ill., the 6035 or the 7135, manufactured by Kyocera of Kyoto, Japan, orthe i300 or i330, manufactured by Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., ofSeoul, Korea.

In still other embodiments, the computing device 100 is a Blackberryhandheld or smart phone, such as the devices manufactured by Research InMotion Limited, including the Blackberry 7100 series, 8700 series, 7700series, 7200 series, the Blackberry 7520, or the Blackberry Pearl 8100.In yet other embodiments, the computing device 100 is a smart phone,Pocket PC, Pocket PC Phone, or other handheld mobile device supportingMicrosoft Windows Mobile Software. Moreover, the computing device 100can be any workstation, desktop computer, laptop or notebook computer,server, handheld computer, mobile telephone, any other computer, orother form of computing or telecommunications device that is capable ofcommunication and that has sufficient processor power and memorycapacity to perform the operations described herein.

In some embodiments, a server 106 communicates with a policy engine todetermine whether a client 102 may access a requested resource. In oneof these embodiments, the server 106 collects information about theclient 102 and transmits the information to the policy engine for use inmaking an access control decision. In another of these embodiments, thepolicy engine collects the information about the client 102. In stillanother of these embodiments, a collection agent gathers the informationabout the client 102 and transmits the information to the policy engine,which makes an access control decision.

Referring now to FIG. 2A, a block diagram depicts one embodiment of anetwork including a policy engine 220. In one embodiment, the networkincludes a client 102, a collection agent 204, a policy engine 220, apolicy database 208, a farm 38, and an application server 106 a. Inanother embodiment, the policy engine 220 is a server 106 b. Althoughonly one client 102, collection agent 304, policy engine 220, farm 38,and application server 106 a are depicted in the embodiment shown inFIG. 2A, it should be understood that the system may provide multipleones of any or each of those components.

In brief overview, when the client 102 transmits a request 210 to thepolicy engine 220 for access to an application, the collection agent 204communicates with client 102, retrieving information about the client102, and transmits the client information 212 to the policy engine 220.The policy engine 220 makes an access control decision by applying apolicy from the policy database 208 to the received information 212.

In more detail, the client 102 transmits a request 210 for a resource tothe policy engine 220. In one embodiment, the policy engine 220 resideson a server 106 b. In another embodiment, the policy engine 220 is aserver 106 b. In still another embodiment, a server 106 receives therequest 210 from the client 102 and transmits the request 210 to thepolicy engine 220. In a further embodiment, the client 102 transmits arequest 210 for a resource to a server 106 c, which transmits therequest 210 to the policy engine 220.

Upon receiving the request, the policy engine 220 initiates informationgathering by the collection agent 204. The collection agent 204 gathersinformation regarding the client 102 and transmits the information 212to the policy engine 220.

In some embodiments, the collection agent 204 gathers and transmits theinformation 212 over a network connection. In some embodiments, thecollection agent 204 comprises bytecode, such as an application writtenin the bytecode programming language JAVA. In some embodiments, thecollection agent 204 comprises at least one script. In thoseembodiments, the collection agent 204 gathers information by running atleast one script on the client 102. In some embodiments, the collectionagent comprises an Active X control on the client 102. An Active Xcontrol is a specialized Component Object Model (COM) object thatimplements a set of interfaces that enable it to look and act like acontrol.

In one embodiment, the policy engine 220 transmits the collection agent204 to the client 102. In another embodiment, a server 106 may store orcache the collection agent 204. The server 106 may then transmit thecollection agent 204 to a client 102. In one embodiment, the policyengine 220 requires a second execution of the collection agent 204 afterthe collection agent 204 has transmitted information 212 to the policyengine 220. In this embodiment, the policy engine 220 may haveinsufficient information 212 to determine whether the client 102satisfies a particular condition. In other embodiments, the policyengine 220 requires a plurality of executions of the collection agent204 in response to received information 212.

In some embodiments, the policy engine 220 transmits instructions to thecollection agent 204 determining the type of information the collectionagent 204 gathers. In those embodiments, a system administrator mayconfigure the instructions transmitted to the collection agent 204 fromthe policy engine 220. This provides greater control over the type ofinformation collected. This also expands the types of access controldecisions that the policy engine 220 can make, due to the greatercontrol over the type of information collected. The collection agent 204gathers information 212 including, without limitation, machine ID of theclient 102, operating system type, existence of a patch to an operatingsystem, MAC addresses of installed network cards, a digital watermark onthe client device, membership in an Active Directory, existence of avirus scanner, existence of a personal firewall, an HTTP header, browsertype, device type, network connection information such as internetprotocol address or range of addresses, machine ID of the server 106,date or time of access request including adjustments for varying timezones, and authorization credentials. In some embodiments, a collectionagent gathers information to determine whether an application can beaccelerated on the client using an acceleration program.

In some embodiments, the device type is a personal digital assistant. Inother embodiments, the device type is a cellular telephone. In otherembodiments, the device type is a laptop computer. In other embodiments,the device type is a desktop computer. In other embodiments, the devicetype is an Internet kiosk.

In some embodiments, the digital watermark includes data embedding. Insome embodiments, the watermark comprises a pattern of data insertedinto a file to provide source information about the file. In otherembodiments, the watermark comprises data hashing files to providetamper detection. In other embodiments, the watermark provides copyrightinformation about the file.

In some embodiments, the network connection information pertains tobandwidth capabilities. In other embodiments, the network connectioninformation pertains to Internet Protocol address. In still otherembodiments, the network connection information consists of an InternetProtocol address. In one embodiment, the network connection informationcomprises a network zone identifying the logon agent to which the client102 provided authentication credentials.

In some embodiments, the authorization credentials include a number oftypes of authentication information, including without limitation, usernames, client names, client addresses, passwords, PINs, voice samples,one-time passcodes, biometric data, digital certificates, tickets, etc.and combinations thereof. After receiving the gathered information 212,the policy engine 220 makes an access control decision based on thereceived information 212.

Referring now to FIG. 2B, a block diagram depicts one embodiment of apolicy engine 220, including a first component 222 comprising acondition database 224 and a logon agent 226, and including a secondcomponent 230 comprising a policy database 232. The first component 222applies a condition from the condition database 224 to informationreceived about client 102 and determines whether the receivedinformation satisfies the condition.

In some embodiments, a condition may require that the client 102 executea particular operating system to satisfy the condition. In someembodiments, a condition may require that the client 102 execute aparticular operating system patch to satisfy the condition. In stillother embodiments, a condition may require that the client 102 provide aMAC address for each installed network card to satisfy the condition. Insome embodiments, a condition may require that the client 102 indicatemembership in a particular Active Directory to satisfy the condition. Inanother embodiment, a condition may require that the client 102 executea virus scanner to satisfy the condition. In other embodiments, acondition may require that the client 102 execute a personal firewall tosatisfy the condition. In some embodiments, a condition may require thatthe client 102 comprise a particular device type to satisfy thecondition. In other embodiments, a condition may require that the client102 establish a particular type of network connection to satisfy thecondition.

If the received information satisfies a condition, the first component222 stores an identifier for that condition in a data set 228. In oneembodiment, the received information satisfies a condition if theinformation makes the condition true. For example, a condition mayrequire that a particular operating system be installed. If the client102 has that operating system, the condition is true and satisfied. Inanother embodiment, the received information satisfies a condition ifthe information makes the condition false. For example, a condition mayaddress whether spyware exists on the client 102. If the client 102 doesnot contain spyware, the condition is false and satisfied.

In some embodiments, the logon agent 226 resides outside of the policyengine 220. In other embodiments, the logon agent 226 resides on thepolicy engine 220. In one embodiment, the first component 222 includes alogon agent 226, which initiates the information gathering about client102. In some embodiments, the logon agent 226 further comprises a datastore. In these embodiments, the data store includes the conditions forwhich the collection agent may gather information. This data store isdistinct from the condition database 224.

In some embodiments, the logon agent 226 initiates information gatheringby executing the collection agent 204. In other embodiments, the logonagent 226 initiates information gathering by transmitting the collectionagent 204 to the client 102 for execution on the client 102. In stillother embodiments, the logon agent 226 initiates additional informationgathering after receiving information 212. In one embodiment, the logonagent 226 also receives the information 212. In this embodiment, thelogon agent 226 generates the data set 228 based upon the receivedinformation 212. In some embodiments, the logon agent 226 generates thedata set 228 by applying a condition from the database 224 to theinformation received from the collection agent 204.

In another embodiment, the first component 222 includes a plurality oflogon agents 226. In this embodiment, at least one of the plurality oflogon agents 226 resides on each network domain from which a client 102may transmit a resource request. In this embodiment, the client 102transmits the resource request to a particular logon agent 226. In someembodiments, the logon agent 226 transmits to the policy engine 220 thenetwork domain from which the client 102 accessed the logon agent 226.In one embodiment, the network domain from which the client 102 accessesa logon agent 226 is referred to as the network zone of the client 102.

The condition database 224 stores the conditions that the firstcomponent 222 applies to received information. The policy database 232stores the policies that the second component 230 applies to thereceived data set 228. In some embodiments, the condition database 224and the policy database 232 store data in an ODBC-compliant database.For example, the condition database 224 and the policy database 232 maybe provided as an ORACLE database, manufactured by Oracle Corporation ofRedwood Shores, Calif. In other embodiments, the condition database 224and the policy database 232 can be a MICROSOFT ACCESS database or aMICROSOFT SQL server database, manufactured by Microsoft Corporation ofRedmond, Wash.

After the first component 222 applies the received information to eachcondition in the condition database 224, the first component transmitsthe data set 228 to second component 230. In one embodiment, the firstcomponent 222 transmits only the data set 228 to the second component230. Therefore, in this embodiment, the second component 230 does notreceive information 212, only identifiers for satisfied conditions. Thesecond component 230 receives the data set 228 and makes an accesscontrol decision by applying a policy from the policy database 232 basedupon the conditions identified within data set 228.

In one embodiment, policy database 232 stores the policies applied tothe received information 212. In one embodiment, the policies stored inthe policy database 232 are specified at least in part by the systemadministrator. In another embodiment, a user specifies at least some ofthe policies stored in the policy database 232. The user-specifiedpolicy or policies are stored as preferences. The policy database 232can be stored in volatile or non-volatile memory or, for example,distributed through multiple servers.

In one embodiment, a policy allows access to a resource only if one ormore conditions are satisfied. In another embodiment, a policy allowsaccess to a resource but prohibits transmission of the resource to theclient 102. Another policy might make connection contingent on theclient 102 that requests access being within a secure network. In someembodiments, the resource is an application program and the client 102has requested execution of the application program. In one of theseembodiments, a policy may allow execution of the application program onthe client 102. In another of these embodiments, a policy may enable theclient 102 to receive a stream of files comprising the applicationprogram. In this embodiment, the stream of files may be stored andexecuted in an isolation environment. In still another of theseembodiments, a policy may allow only execution of the applicationprogram on a server 106, such as an application server, and require theserver 106 to transmit output data to the client 102.

Referring now to FIG. 2C, a flow diagram depicts one embodiment of thesteps taken by the policy engine 220 to make an access control decisionbased upon information received about a client 102. Upon receivinggathered information about the client 102 (step 250), the policy engine220 generates a data set based upon the information (step 252). The dataset 228 contains identifiers for each condition satisfied by thereceived information 212. The policy engine 220 applies a policy to eachidentified condition within the data set 228. That application yields anenumeration of resources which the client 102 may access (step 254). Thepolicy engine 220 then presents that enumeration to the client 102. Insome embodiments, the policy engine 220 creates a Hypertext MarkupLanguage (HTML) document used to present the enumeration to the client.

In some embodiments, a determination is made as to a type of connectionto establish when granting access to a resource responsive to adetermination by a policy engine such as the policy engine 220 describedabove in FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B and FIG. 2C. In other embodiments, adetermination is made as to a method for granting access to a resource,such as a method for execution, responsive to a determination by apolicy engine such as the policy engine 220 described above inconnection with FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B and FIG. 2C. In still otherembodiments, the server 106 receiving the credentials and the request toexecute the resource further comprises such a policy engine 220.

In some embodiments, one of a plurality of access rights is identified,responsive to a policy. In one of these embodiments, the identificationis made responsive to an application of a policy to informationassociated with the client 102. In another of these embodiments, theselection is made by a policy engine such as the policy engine 220described above in FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B and FIG. 2C. In still another ofthese embodiments, the types of access rights include, withoutlimitation, rights to read, write, modify, download, save local copies,execute, print, and email a requested resource.

Referring now to FIG. 3A, a block diagram depicts one embodiment of asystem for dynamically associating access rights with a resource. Inbrief overview, the system includes a server 106, a policy engine 220,and an application program 350. The server receives a request for accessto a resource from a client 102. The policy engine 220 receives arequest from the server 106 for an identification of a plurality ofaccess rights to associate with the resources, the plurality of accessrights identified responsive to an application of a policy to the client102. The application program 350 receives, from the server, a copy ofthe resource associated with the identified plurality of access rightsvia a rights markup language, and an identification of the associatedplurality of access rights.

The server 106 receives a request for access to a resource from a client102. In some embodiments, the server 106 is a web proxy server. In oneembodiment, the client 102 requests access to a file, such as adocument. In another embodiment, the client 102 requests access to aresource for processing by an application program 350 that isXRML-aware.

In one embodiment, the server 106 comprises a collection agent gatheringinformation from the client 102. In another embodiment, the server 106comprises a means for transmitting the collection agent to the client102. In another embodiment, the server 106 comprises a policy engine220. In still another embodiment, the server 106 is in communicationwith the policy engine 220. In some embodiments, the requested resourceresides on the server 106. In other embodiments, the requested resourceresides on a server 106 b.

In some embodiments, the server 106 comprises a means for associatingaccess rights with the requested resource. In one of these embodiments,the server 106 retrieves a copy of the requested resource. In another ofthese embodiments, the server 106 associates an access right with a copyof the requested resource by signing the copy. In still another of theseembodiments, the server 106 comprises a means for signing the resourceusing an extensible rights markup language (XRML). In other embodiments,the server 106 configures the rights management attributes of a documentrequested by a client 102. In one of these embodiments, the serverconfigures the rights management attributes based on policies defined byan administrator.

In one embodiment, the server associates an access right with a resourceusing a rights management language, a rights expression language, orother language for managing digital rights. In another embodiment, theserver generates an XrML assertion grant according to the XrML 2.0standard developed by ContentGuard, Inc., of El Segundo, Calif., andmaintained by the Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG). In still anotherembodiment, the server generates an expression of terms and conditionsapplicable to the resource, according to the Open Digital RightsLanguage (ODRL) standard submitted by IPR Systems Pty Ltd to the WorldWide Web Consortium and maintained by the World Wide Web Consortium.

In some embodiments, the server generates an identification of theclient, an identification of a resource, an identification of one morerights granted to the client when the client requests access to theresource. In other embodiments, the server associates the resource anaccess right with a resource by using technology to persist rightsmanagement information, the access right enforceable by an applicationprogram processing the resource for a user of the client.

In one embodiment, the server 106 comprises a means for associating theresource with a right to retrieve the resource. In another embodiment,the server 106 comprises a means for associating the resource with arequirement to view a version of the file displayed using the HypertextMarkup Language (HTML). In still another embodiment, the server 106comprises a means for associating the resource with a right to receiveoutput data generated by an execution of the resource on an applicationserver. In even still another embodiment, the server 106 comprises ameans for associating the resource with a right to print a copy of theresource. In yet another embodiment, the server 106 comprises a meansfor associating the resource with a right to save a local copy of theresource. In a further embodiment, the server 106 comprises a means forassociating the resource with a right to transmit, via electronic mail,a copy of the resource.

In one embodiment, the server 106 comprises a transmitter. In anotherembodiment, the transmitter sends the request for access to the resourceto the policy engine 220. In still another embodiment, the transmittersends, to the client 102, a copy of the resource associated with aplurality of access rights identified by the policy engine 220. In yetanother embodiment, the transmitter sends, to a server 106 b, a copy ofthe resource digitally signed by the server, an identification of theplurality of access rights identified by the policy engine 220 includedin the digital signature.

The policy engine 220 receives a request from the server 106 for anidentification of a plurality of access rights to associate with theresources, the plurality of access rights identified responsive to anapplication of a policy to the client 102. In some embodiments, thepolicy engine 220 provides the functionality described above inconnection with FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B, and FIG. 2C. In one embodiment, thepolicy engine 220 comprises a collection agent gathering informationabout the client 102. In another embodiment, the policy engine 220transmits the collection agent to the client 102. In still anotherembodiment, the policy engine 220 transmits the collection agent to theserver 106 for transmission to the client 102.

In one embodiment, the policy engine 220 comprises a policy database. Inanother embodiment, the policy engine 220 applies a policy from thepolicy database to information gathered about the client 102. In stillanother embodiment, the policy engine 220 receives gathered informationfrom the server 106. In yet another embodiment, the policy engine 220receives gathered information from a collection agent. In someembodiments, the policy engine 220 provides the functionality of thepolicy engine described below in connection with FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C.

In some embodiments, the policy engine identifies one or more accessrights for association with the requested resource, responsive to anapplication of a policy to the client requesting the access. In one ofthese embodiments, the policy engine determines that the client may viewa requested resource. In another of these embodiments, the policy enginedetermines that the client may modify a requested resource. In stillanother of these embodiments, the policy engine determines that theclient may retrieve a copy of the requested resource. In yet another ofthese embodiments, the policy engine determines that the client maystore a copy of a requested resource. In another of these embodiments,the policy engine determines that a viewer of the resource may copycontent from the resource. In still another of these embodiments, thepolicy engine determines that a viewer of the resource may paste contentinto the resource.

In another of these embodiments, the policy engine determines that theclient may not access the resource as requested. In still another ofthese embodiments, the policy engine identifies an alternate method foraccessing the resource. For example, the policy engine may allow theclient to view a read-only copy of a resource and deny the client theability to modify the resource. In another example, the policy enginemay allow the client to receive output data generated by an execution ofthe resource on a remote server and deny the client the ability toexecute the resource locally. In still another example, the policyengine may allow or deny a client request to copy content from theresource, paste content into the resource, print, email or save a localcopy of the resource.

The server 106 receives the identification of the plurality of accessrights from the policy engine 220. The server 106 associates theidentification of the plurality of access rights with the requestedresource. The application program 350 receives, from the server 106, acopy of the resource associated with the identified plurality of accessrights via a rights markup language (such as XRML), and anidentification of the associated plurality of access rights.

In one embodiment, the application program 350 comprises a means formaking an access control decision responsive to the identification ofthe associated plurality of access rights. In another embodiment, theapplication program 350 comprises a component for applying an accessright in the associated plurality of access rights to the request forthe resource. In still another embodiment, the application program 350comprises a means for denying a request to retrieve the resource. In yetanother embodiment, the application program 350 comprises a means forallowing a request to retrieve the resource.

In one embodiment, the application program 350 parses an XrML assertiongrant generated according to the XrML 2.0 standard developed byContentGuard, Inc., of El Segundo, Calif., and maintained by the MotionPicture Experts Group (MPEG). In another embodiment, the applicationprogram 350 parses an expression of terms and conditions applicable tothe resource, generated according to the Open Digital Rights Language(ODRL) standard submitted by IPR Systems Pty Ltd to the World Wide WebConsortium and maintained by the World Wide Web Consortium.

In one embodiment, the application program 350 includes a component forparsing an identification of a plurality of access rights associatedwith a resource. In another embodiment, the application program 350 isconfigured to identify an access right associated with a resource. Instill another embodiment, the application program 350 is configured toidentify an access right enumerated within a digital signature. In yetanother embodiment, the application program 350 accesses a file, such asan XML manifest file identifying the plurality of access rights,associated with the resource to make the access control decision.

In some embodiments, the application program 350 comprises a wordprocessing or spreadsheet application program. In other embodiments, theapplication program 350 comprises a client agent on the client 102. Inone of these embodiments, the client agent comprises an agent using apresentation layer protocol to communicate with the server 106, such asan ICA client, an RDP client, or an X11 client. In still otherembodiments, the application program 350 comprises a rights managementagent enforcing digital rights policies on the client 102. In one ofthese embodiments, the application program 350 comprises an applicationprogram enforcing a network access policy. In another of theseembodiments, the application program 350 comprises a collection agent asdescribed above in connection with FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C, and transmitsinformation associated with the client to the policy engine, directly orvia the server 106.

In one embodiment, the application program 350 supports technologypersisting rights management information and is able to enforce theassociated access rights. The application program 350 may be, forexample, a word processing document, a spreadsheet processingapplication, or any other common application program. In anotherembodiment, the application program 350 may be any type of programsupporting technology persisting rights management information and ableto enforce the associated access rights.

In some embodiments, the application program 350 provides restrictedaccess to the resource according to the rights markup language (such asXRML). In one embodiment, the application program 350 grants a requestfor access to the resource, responsive to the identified plurality ofaccess rights. In another of these embodiments, the application program350 denies the requested access and provides an alternate method foraccessing the resource. In still another of these embodiments, theapplication program 350 denies the request for access to the resource,responsive to the identified plurality of access rights.

In one embodiment, the application program 350 comprises a means forviewing a version of the resource displayed using the Hypertext MarkupLanguage (HTML). In another embodiment, the application program 350comprises a connection to a client agent on the client 102 receivingoutput data generated by an execution of the resource on an applicationserver 106, 106 b. In still another embodiment, the application program350 denies a request to retrieve and execute a resource on the client102. In yet another embodiment, the application program 350 provides analternate means for accessing the resource by providing the output datagenerated by the execution of the resource on the application server106. In a further embodiment, the application program 350 restricts theuse of the output data. For example, the application program 350 mayallow or deny a request to print, email, or store locally the receivedoutput data.

Referring now to FIG. 3B, in one embodiment a transmitter on the server106 sends the resource and the identification of the associatedplurality of access rights to an application program 350′ executing on asecond server 106 b. In another embodiment, the application program 350′executing on the second server 106 b comprises a means for making anaccess control decision responsive to an access right in the associatedplurality of access rights. In still another embodiment, the applicationprogram 350′ executing on the second server 106 b comprises a means forproviding restricted access to the resource responsive to the accesscontrol decision. In yet another embodiment, the application program350′ executing on the second server 106 b further comprises an agent fortransmitting output data generated by the application program 350′ tothe client and providing restricted access to the output data responsiveto the access control decision.

In one embodiment, the application program 350′ denies a request toretrieve and execute a resource on the client 102. In anotherembodiment, the application program 350′ provides an alternate means foraccessing the resource by providing the output data generated by theexecution of the resource on the application server 106. In stillanother embodiment, the application program 350′ restricts the use ofthe output data. For example, the application program 350′ may allow ordeny a request to print, email, or store locally the received outputdata.

In some embodiments, the server 106 provides the functionality describedabove in connection with FIG. 3A. In other embodiments, the applicationprogram 350′ provides the functionality described above in connectionwith the application program 350 of FIG. 3A.

In some embodiments, the client requests access to a resource notpreviously associated with an access right. In one of these embodiments,the server determines that the resource is not yet associated with anaccess right. In another of these embodiments, the server requests anidentification of a plurality of access rights from a policy engine. Instill another of these embodiments, the policy engine applies a policyto the client, or to information associated with the client, todetermine what access, if any, the server should grant to the client. Instill another of these embodiments, the policy engine transmits anidentification of the plurality of access rights to the server. In yetanother of these embodiments, the server associates the plurality ofaccess rights with the resource.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a flow diagram depicts one embodiment of thesteps taken in a method for dynamically associating, by a server, accessrights with a resource. In brief overview, a server receives a requestfor a resource from a client (step 402). The server requests from apolicy engine, an identification of a plurality of access rights toassociate with the resource, the plurality of access rights identifiedresponsive to an application of a policy to the client (step 404). Theserver associates the resource with the plurality of access rights via arights markup language (step 406). The server transmits the resource tothe client with an identification of the associated plurality of accessrights (step 408). An application program on the client makes an accesscontrol decision responsive to the associated plurality of access rights(step 410). The application program provides restricted access to theresource, responsive to the access control decision (step 412).

A server receives a request for a resource from a client (step 402). Inone embodiment, a server 106 receives the request for the resource fromthe client 102. In another embodiment, the client 102 requests access toa file, such as a document.

The server requests from a policy engine, an identification of aplurality of access rights to associate with the resource, the pluralityof access rights identified responsive to an application of a policy tothe client (step 404). In one embodiment, information is gathered aboutthe client. In another embodiment, the policy engine gathers theinformation about the client to make access control decision. In stillanother embodiment, the server gathers the information about the client.In yet another embodiment, the server transmits the gathered informationabout the client to the policy engine. In some embodiments, theapplication program gathers the information about the client andtransmits the gathered information to the policy engine, directly or viathe server.

In one embodiment, the server receives an identification of a pluralityof access rights to associate with the requested resource. In anotherembodiment, the server receives an identification of a plurality ofaccess rights including a right to retrieve a file. In still anotherembodiment, the server receives an identification of a plurality ofaccess rights including a right to view a version of a file displayedusing the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). In yet another embodiment,the server receives an identification of a plurality of access rightsincluding a right to receive output data generated by an execution ofthe resource on an application server.

In one embodiment, the server receives an identification of a pluralityof access rights including a right to print a copy of the resource. Inanother embodiment, the server receives an identification of a pluralityof access rights including a right to save a local copy of the resource.In still another embodiment, the server receives an identification of aplurality of access rights including a right to transmit, via electronicmail, a copy of the resource.

The server associates the resource with the plurality of access rightsvia a rights markup language (step 406). In one embodiment, the serveruses an extensible rights management language (XRML) to associate theresource with the plurality of access rights. In another embodiment, theserver retrieves a copy of the resource and signs the copy using XRML.In still another embodiment, the server generates an XrML assertiongrant according to the XrML 2.0 standard developed by ContentGuard,Inc., of El Segundo, Calif., and maintained by the Motion PictureExperts Group (MPEG). In yet another embodiment, the server generates anexpression of terms and conditions applicable to the resource, accordingto the Open Digital Rights Language (ODRL) standard submitted by IPRSystems Pty Ltd to the World Wide Web Consortium and maintained by theWorld Wide Web Consortium.

In some embodiments, the server 106 generates a copy of the requestedresource. In one of these embodiments, the server 106 creates anencrypted copy of a requested document. In another of these embodiments,the server 106 acquires a license authorizing the client for access tothe encrypted copy. In still another of these embodiments, the server106 acquires a license identifying a plurality of access rights. In yetanother of these embodiments, the server 106 generates a file, such asan XML manifest file, identifying the plurality of access rights. Inother embodiments, the server 106 associates a copy of the resource withthe generated file. In still other embodiments, the server 106 generatesa digital certificate identifying the plurality of access rights andtransmits the digital certificate with the copy of the requestedresource. In yet other embodiments, the server 106 creates a copy of thefile which contains rights management information within it. In one ofthese embodiments, once the application validates the file with theserver, it is able to enforce those rights at runtime.

The server transmits the resource to the client with an identificationof the associated plurality of access rights (step 408). In oneembodiment, the server 106 transmits the resource to an applicationprogram on the client 102. In another embodiment, the server transmits asigned copy of the resource to the client, the signature identifying theassociated plurality of access rights. In other embodiments, the server106 transmits the resource to an application program executing on asecond server 106 b with the identification of the associated pluralityof access rights, as described above in connection with FIG. 3B.

An application program on the client makes an access control decisionresponsive to the associated plurality of access rights (step 410). Inone embodiment, the application program identifies an access rightenumerated within a digital signature. In another embodiment, theapplication program accesses a file associated with the resource, suchas an XML manifest file identifying the plurality of access rights, tomake the access control decision. In still another embodiment, theapplication program decrypts the received resource. In yet anotherembodiment, the application program identifies the associated pluralityof access rights upon decryption of the received resource.

In one embodiment, the server creates a copy of the file which containsthe rights management information within it. In another embodiment, theapplication program identifies the associated plurality of accessrights. In still another embodiment, the application validates the filewith the server. In yet another embodiment, the application programdetermines which features to enable or disable for a user of theapplication program, responsive to the identified plurality of accessrights. In a further embodiment, the application program enforces thoserights at runtime.

The application program provides restricted access to the resource,responsive to the access control decision (step 412). In someembodiments, the application program allows the requested access to theresource. In other embodiments, the application program allows analternate, restricted method of accessing the resource. In still otherembodiments, the application program denies the request for access tothe resource.

In one embodiment, the application program denies a request to retrievethe resource. In another embodiment, the application program displays aversion of the resource using the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML),responsive to a request to retrieve the resource. In still anotherembodiment, the application program allows a request to retrieve theresource.

In one embodiment, the application program denies a request to modifythe resource. Modification of the resource may include pasting contentinto the resource. In another embodiment, the application program deniesa request to copy content from the resource. In still anotherembodiment, the application program denies a request to receive outputdata generated by an execution of the resource on an application server.In still another embodiment, the application program allows a request toreceive output data generated by an execution of the resource on anapplication server. In yet another embodiment, the application programallows the client to receive output data generated by an execution ofthe resource on an application server, responsive to a request toretrieve the resource.

In some embodiments, the server transmits the resource and theassociated plurality of access rights to an application programexecuting on a second server. In one of these embodiments, the server106 transmits the resource to a server 106 b. In another of theseembodiments, the application program executing on the second servermakes an access control decision responsive to the identified at leastone access right. In still another of these embodiments, the applicationprogram executing on the second server provides restricted access to theresource responsive to the access control decision. In yet another ofthese embodiments, the second server 106 b transmits output datagenerated by executing the application program, access to the outputdata restricted responsive to the access control decision.

In some embodiments, the server 106 may associate a different pluralityof access rights to the resource upon receiving a request from a secondclient 102 b. In other embodiments, the server 106 may associate adifferent plurality of access rights to the resource upon receiving asecond request from the client 102 for access. In some embodiments, thefunctionality described above enables a server 106 to dynamicallyassociate access rights with a requested resource responsive to anapplication of a policy to a client 102 requesting access to theresource. In other embodiments, the server 106 may dynamically associatelevels of access with a requested resource responsive to an applicationof a policy to a client 102 requesting access to the resource.

The systems and methods described above may be provided as one or morecomputer-readable programs embodied on or in one or more articles ofmanufacture. The article of manufacture may be a floppy disk, a harddisk, a CD-ROM, a flash memory card, a PROM, a RAM, a ROM, or a magnetictape. In general, the computer-readable programs may be implemented inany programming language, LISP, PERL, C, C++, PROLOG, or any byte codelanguage such as JAVA. The software programs may be stored on or in oneor more articles of manufacture as object code.

Having described certain embodiments of methods and systems fordynamically associating access rights with resources, it will now becomeapparent to one of skill in the art that other embodiments incorporatingthe concepts of the invention may be used. Therefore, the inventionshould not be limited to certain embodiments, but rather should belimited only by the spirit and scope of the following claims.

1. A method for dynamically associating, by a server, access rights witha resource, the method comprising the steps of: (a) receiving, by aserver, a request for a resource from a client; (b) requesting, by theserver, from a policy engine, an identification of a plurality of accessrights to associate with the resource, the plurality of access rightsidentified responsive to an application of a policy to the client; (c)associating, by the server, the resource with the plurality of accessrights via a rights markup language; (d) transmitting, by the server,the resource to the client with an identification of the associatedplurality of access rights; (e) making, by an application program on theclient, an access control decision responsive to the associatedplurality of access rights; and (f) providing, by the applicationprogram, restricted access to the resource responsive to the accesscontrol decision.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein step (b) furthercomprises gathering information about the client.
 3. The method of claim2, wherein step (b) further comprises applying a policy to the gatheredinformation.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein step (b) furthercomprises receiving, by the server, an identification of a plurality ofaccess rights including a right to retrieve a file.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, wherein step (b) further comprises receiving, by the server, anidentification of a plurality of access rights including a right to viewa version of a file displayed using the Hypertext Markup Language(HTML).
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein step (b) further comprisesreceiving, by the server, an identification of a plurality of accessrights including a right to receive output data generated by anexecution of the resource on an application server.
 7. The method ofclaim 1, wherein step (b) further comprises receiving, by the server, anidentification of a plurality of access rights including a right toprint a copy of the resource.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein step (b)further comprises receiving, by the server, an identification of aplurality of access rights including a right to save a local copy of theresource.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein step (b) further comprisesreceiving, by the server, an identification of a plurality of accessrights including a right to transmit via electronic mail a copy of theresource.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein step (f) further comprisesdenying, by the application program, a request to retrieve the resource.11. The method of claim 1, wherein step (f) further comprises denying,by the application program, a request to modify the resource.
 12. Themethod of claim 1, wherein step (f) further comprises the step ofdenying, by the application program, a request to receive output datagenerated by an execution of the resource on an application server. 13.The method of claim 1, wherein step (f) further comprises allowing, bythe application program, a request to retrieve the resource.
 14. Themethod of claim 1, wherein step (f) further comprises displaying, by theapplication program, a version of the resource displayed using theHypertext Markup Language (HTML), responsive to a request to retrievethe resource.
 15. The method of claim 1, wherein step (f) furthercomprises allowing, by the application program, a request to receiveoutput data generated by an execution of the resource on an applicationserver.
 16. The method of claim 1, wherein step (d) comprisestransmitting, by the server, the resource and the associated pluralityof access rights to an application program executing on a second server.17. The method of claim 16, wherein step (e) comprises making, by theapplication program executing on the second server, an access controldecision responsive to the identified at least one access right.
 18. Themethod of claim 16, wherein step (f) comprises providing, by theapplication program executing on the second server, restricted access tothe resource responsive to the access control decision.
 19. The methodof claim 16, wherein step (f) further comprises transmitting, by thesecond server, output data generated by executing the applicationprogram, access to the output data restricted responsive to the accesscontrol decision.
 20. A system for dynamically associating access rightswith a resource comprising: a server receiving a request for access to aresource from a client; a policy engine receiving a request from theserver for an identification of a plurality of access rights toassociate with the resource, the plurality of access rights identifiedresponsive to an application of a policy to the client; and anapplication program receiving, from the server, a copy of the resourceassociated with the identified plurality of access rights via a rightsmarkup language, and an identification of the associated plurality ofaccess rights.
 21. The system of claim 20, wherein the policy enginefurther comprises a collection agent gathering information about theclient.
 22. The system of claim 21, wherein the policy engine furthercomprises a policy database, the policy engine applying a policy fromthe policy database to the gathered information.
 23. The system of claim21, wherein the server further comprises a means for transmitting thecollection agent to the client.
 24. The system of claim 20, wherein theserver further comprises a means for associating the resource with anaccess right using a rights markup language.
 25. The system of claim 20,wherein the server further comprises a means for associating theresource with an access right using an extensible rights markup language(XRML).
 26. The system of claim 20, wherein the server further comprisesa means for signing the resource using an extensible rights markuplanguage (XRML).
 27. The system of claim 20, wherein the server furthercomprises a means for associating the resource with a right to retrievethe resource.
 28. The system of claim 20, wherein the server furthercomprises a means for associating the resource with a requirement toview a version of a file displayed using the Hypertext Markup Language(HTML).
 29. The system of claim 20, wherein the server further comprisesa means for associating the resource with a right to receive output datagenerated by an execution of the resource on an application server. 30.The system of claim 20, wherein the server further comprises a means forassociating the resource with a right to print a copy of the resource.31. The system of claim 20, wherein the server further comprises a meansfor associating the resource with a right to save a local copy of theresource.
 32. The system of claim 20, wherein the server furthercomprises a means for associating the resource with a right to transmitvia electronic mail a copy of the resource.
 33. The system of claim 20,wherein the application program is configured to make an access controldecision responsive to the identification of the associated plurality ofaccess rights.
 34. The system of claim 20, wherein the applicationprogram further comprises a means for making an access control decisionresponsive to the identification of the associated plurality of accessrights.
 35. The system of claim 20, wherein the application programfurther comprises a component for applying an access right in theassociated plurality of access rights to the request for the resource.36. The system of claim 20, wherein the application program furthercomprises a means for denying a request to retrieve the resource. 37.The system of claim 20, wherein the application program furthercomprises a means for allowing a request to retrieve the resource. 38.The system of claim 20, wherein the application program furthercomprises a means for viewing a version of the resource displayed usingthe Hypertext Markup Language (HTML).
 39. The system of claim 20,wherein the application program further comprises a connection to aclient agent displaying on the client received output data generated byan execution of the resource on an application server.
 40. The system ofclaim 20, wherein the server further comprises a transmitter sending theresource and the identification of the associated plurality of accessrights to an application program executing on a second server.
 41. Thesystem of claim 40, wherein the application program executing on thesecond server further comprises a means for making an access controldecision responsive to an access right in the associated plurality ofaccess rights.
 42. The system of claim 40, wherein the applicationprogram executing on the second server further comprises a means forproviding restricted access to the resource responsive to the accesscontrol decision.
 43. The system of claim 40, wherein the applicationprogram executing on the second server further comprises an agent fortransmitting output data generated by the application program to theclient and providing restricted access to the output data responsive tothe access control decision.